Skydance Animation has announced Ray Gunn, an all-new animated feature directed by Brad Bird and slated for release in 2026.

The film is directed by Brad Bird, who also created the original story and co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins. Ray Gunn is produced by John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg for Skydance Animation.

Ray Gunn features a voice cast led by Sam Rockwell as Raymond Gunn, Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova, and Tom Waits as Eyera.

Set in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, the film follows private eye Raymond Gunn as he is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

“RAY GUNN has been in my mind for over 30 years. The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers. I’ve been a fan of both of those sort of genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements, and extreme characters,” said Brad Bird.

“There’s a big chunk of people who don’t watch animation. That’s a group I’m anxious to persuade because it’s an amazing art form that is way too limited in people’s minds. Animation as a medium is too interesting to limit what kind of stories can be told,” Bird added.

“Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life. This project is so uniquely special because it is a total realization of where Brad is currently on his artistic journey. I can’t wait for audiences to see this extraordinary animation that looks like nothing else out there,” said Scarlett Johansson.

Ray Gunn joins Netflix’s growing lineup of original animated features, which includes the platform’s most-watched film to date, Academy Award®-winner KPop Demon Hunters; Academy Award®-winner Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; Academy Award®-nominated titles such as Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Nimona, The Sea Beast, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Over the Moon, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, I Lost My Body and Klaus; BAFTA®-nominated Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; Critics Choice Award-nominated In Your Dreams; comedy favorites Leo and Back to the Outback; and the upcoming Steps.